aacj

July 21 2025

Amazon hikes prices; Trump unifies base; School choice victory; Robots fix food delivery?; Trump demands name change

Greg Loving

21 Jul 2025 • 6 min read

A drone from automated delivery company Zipline drops off a package. PHOTO: ZIPLINE

Amid Tariffs, Amazon Hikes Prices on Essentials While Walmart Cuts Them

Trump Turns Epstein Backlash Into Unifying Rally Against Media

School Choice Wins Federal Victory, But Faces State-Level Fight

Robots and Drones Deployed to Fix Food Delivery Woes

Trump Demands Commanders Revert to ‘Redskins,’ Threatens Stadium Deal

1. Amid Tariffs, Amazon Hikes Prices on Essentials While Walmart Cuts Them

In the five months since President Trump first announced sweeping tariffs, Amazon quietly raised prices on low-cost products such as deodorant, protein shakes and pet care items, a Wall Street Journal analysis of nearly 2,500 items found. On average, prices on inexpensive goods like these increased 5% by July. In April, Amazon said it would hold the line on prices. The Journal’s analysis of prices from e-commerce data firm Traject Data found that while Amazon’s price rose on 1,200 of its cheapest household goods, competitor Walmart lowered prices on the same items by nearly 2%. The divergent strategies show how major retailers are reshaping prices on popular products as uncertainty about tariffs drags on.

WSJ

2. Trump Turns Epstein Backlash Into Unifying Rally Against Media

In the week after the Justice Department walked back its promise to release the full collection of files about the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, it seemed there was nothing President Trump could do to quell the fury of some of his supporters. He tried to coax them as he defended his attorney general against their wrath, asking “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’” He said he did not understand their interest in the case, downplaying it as “boring.” He even castigated them as “weaklings” and disavowed them as “PAST supporters.” Still, the backlash kept building. But when The Wall Street Journal published a story detailing a decades-old letter with a lewd drawing that Mr. Trump allegedly sent Mr. Epstein for his birthday, Mr. Trump got a respite from the revolt, as some of his core supporters rushed to his defense. Mr. Trump turned one of the most fractious moments for his base into one of the most unifying by tapping into other MAGA grievances: the deep mistrust of mainstream media, the disdain for Rupert Murdoch and the belief that the president had been unfairly persecuted by his political foes.

NYT

3. School Choice Wins Federal Victory, But Faces State-Level Fight

School-choice advocates won a major victory with President Trump’s tax megabill—but it comes with a catch. The federal government will now subsidize private-school tuition, via unusually generous tax credits for donations to nonprofits. However, governors must opt into the program. Democratic-led states may reject it, derailing school-choice advocates’ goal for a nationwide effort. Now comes a protracted debate at the state level. Progressives and public-school groups object to funding private schools and say the new program will hurt public education. Supporters say the money will give families options outside of their neighborhood school. “There will be a lot of pressure in blue states not to opt in,” said John Schilling, an adviser to the American Federation for Children, a leading champion of the legislation. Vladimir Kogan, a political-science professor at Ohio State University, said the situation now is analogous to Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid, which some Republican-led states rejected. “This is going to be the blue-state equivalent,” he said. For decades, conservatives tried and failed to get Washington to provide financial backing to private schools. Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan advocated for tax credits, while George W. Bush wanted vouchers for low-income children. The recent megabill offered a chance to fold school choice into a broader package. The law, enacted earlier this month, will soon allow taxpayers to redirect a portion of their tax bill to nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations or SGOs. The taxpayer could write a check of up to $1,700 to an SGO but get that full amount back via a reduction of the same amount in their income taxes, instead of a regular tax deduction for the donation. It is a donation that doesn’t ultimately cost the donor anything.

WSJ

4. Robots and Drones Deployed to Fix Food Delivery Woes

Robots are carting fried chicken through Chicago streets. Drones are parachuting Panera strawberry lemonade down to homes in Charlotte, N.C. AI-powered scales at fast-food restaurants are making sure delivery orders that go out aren’t missing burgers. Billions of dollars in investment and years of research are going into efforts to fix a modern convenience: food delivery. Restaurants in the U.S. receive around 4 billion food-delivery orders a year through apps alone, according to data insights company Consumer Edge. But hungry customers often end up disappointed. Couriers juggle multiple deliveries, resulting in cold burritos. Drinks are spilled, fries are shorted. Delivery charges grow ever higher, as do suggested tips and menu prices. Enter robotics companies, which have received around $3.5 billion in investment since 2019 in an effort to make food delivery better, faster and cheaper, according to research provider PitchBook. Among the advances: Technologies similar to those in driverless cars such as Waymo vehicles are allowing food-delivery bots to “see” and better navigate their terrain. So-called physical AI is enabling drones to navigate the world through machine learning in ways they weren’t able to a few years ago. The permitting process for robots and drones to navigate city streets and airspace is complex and lengthy, but proponents believe the technologies can improve the challenged economics of food delivery. Unlike humans, the robots don’t ask for tips, nor are their wages rising.

WSJ

5. Trump Demands Commanders Revert to ‘Redskins,’ Threatens Stadium Deal

President Trump urged the Washington Commanders on Sunday to revert to their former name and threatened to derail a deal for the N.F.L. team to build a new stadium in Washington, D.C., if it didn’t submit to his demand. The Commanders dropped their “Redskins” name in 2020 amid pressure from corporate sponsors and after lobbying by Native American groups, who argued that the team’s name and logo amplified racist stereotypes. On Sunday morning, as he played golf at his club in Washington, Mr. Trump posted a message on Truth Social pushing the team to reverse course. “The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” Mr. Trump wrote. In his posts, Mr. Trump also urged the Cleveland Guardians baseball team, which changed its name from the Cleveland Indians in 2021, to follow suit. Hours later, in another post, Mr. Trump threatened to impose “a restriction” on the Commanders by thwarting the deal announced in April for the team to build a new stadium in Washington.

NYT

Sources